Reel construction with hexagonal spiders for mounting both bats and tine bars

ABSTRACT

A feeding reel including an axial tubular body and a plurality of axially spaced spider elements rigidly mounted thereon, these spider elements defining hexagons having alternate sides of equal relatively long length and alternating sides of equal relatively short length, flanges projecting in directions axially of the reel and defining the relative long side of the hexagons, elongated reel bats mounted on the flanges, and tine mounting bars journaled in bearings on the spider elements adjacent the short side defining edges thereof, the tine mounting bars extending in directions axially of the reel.

United States Patent [151 3,698,166 Fisher Il Oct. 17, 1972 [54] REELCONSTRUCTION WITH 3,224,177 12/1965 Adee ..56/226 UX HEXAGONAL SPIDERSFOR MOUNTING BOTH BATS AND TINE Primary Examiner-R y BARS AssistantExaminer-J. A. Oliff Attorne Merchant & Gould [72] Inventor: Ivan E.Fisher, Owatonna, Minn. y [73] Assignee: Owatonna Manufacturing Company,[57] ABSTRACT Owatonna, Minn- A feeding reel including an axial tubularbody and a [22] Filed; June 2, 1971 plurality of axially spaced spiderelements rigidly mounted thereon, these spider elements defining hex- PPNod ,195 agons having alternate sides of equal relatively long lengthand alternating sides of equal relatively short length, flangesprojecting in directions axially of the 2 5 2 g 1512 reel and definingthe relative long side of the hex- [58] Fie'ld 226 227 agons, elongatedreel bats mounted on the flanges, and tine mounting bars journale d inbearings on the spider elements adjacent the short side defining edges[56] References Cited thereof, the tine mounting bars extending indirections UNITED STATES PATENTS axially of the reel- 3,472,008 10/ I969Hurlburt ..56/226 2 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENT'Ennm 11 I972 SHEET1 BF 2 1N VENTOR. I VAN FISHER lip 60.010

A T TOR N E BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Heretofore, feeding reels foragricultural implements such as mowers, swathers, and other harvestingmachinery, have been relatively flimsy in construction, includingcentral shafts of relatively small diameter, reels or spiders includingradial spoke construction mounted on the central shafts, and reel batsmade of wood or sheet metal, the reels being substantially lacking inrigidity and structural strength for feeding heavy, wet or tangledcrops. Reels having feeding tines thereon have been reinforced by havingheavier construction, these being quite costly to produce.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An important object of this invention is theprovision of a reel that is relatively simple and inexpensive to produceand which is of substantial rigidity and strength.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a reel havingoscillatory tine equipped bars and means for quickly and easilydismounting and remounting the bars.

To the above ends, I provide a rigid axial tubular body, axial shaftsextending from opposite ends of the body, and a plurality of spidersdisposed on the body in axially spaced relationship. Each spider isformed to provide a hexagonal outline having alternate straight sides ofequal relatively long length, and alternating sides of equal relativelyshort length, the relatively long sides being defined by flangesprotecting axially with respect to the spider. A plurality of rigidmetallic bat elements are each rigidly secured in face to faceengagements with a different one of the flanges on each spider elementand adjacent a different one of the short sides defined by the spiderelement. A plurality of bearings are removably mounted on each spideradjacent each of the shorter sides defined thereby, the bearings of eachspider being aligned with respective bearings on the other spiders, andelongated tine equipped shafts are journaled in the aligned bearings andextend in spaced parallel relationship to adjacent ones of the batelements. Each spider element comprises a main plate-like portion havingthe above mentioned hexagonal outline, and a disk-like reinforcingmember having a peripheral portion secured to the plate-like portion,the plate-like portion and reinforcing member having aligned centralopenings for reception of the tubular body, the plate-like portion andreinforcing member being welded to the tubular body in axially spacedrelationship.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view in top plan of a swatherhaving the reel of this invention mounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view in end elevation of the reel of thisinvention, shown as being removed from the swather of FIG. 1, some partsbeing broken away;

FIG. 3 is an axial section taken substantially on the line 3-3 of FIG.2, some parts being broken away;

FIG. 4 is a transverse section taken substantially on the line 4--4 ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 isa fragmentary view in exploded perspective of a portion of thereel of this invention; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary detail taken substantially on the line6-6 of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The reel of thisinvention may be mounted on any mobile agricultural implement which usesa reel for the purpose of aiding in the feeding of crop material to amower or other mechanism on the implement, and is shown in FIG. 1 asbeing mounted on a conventional swather and crop conditioner that isadapted to be pulled over a field by a tractor or similar prime mover.The swather shown comprises a frame 1 having front and rear framesections 2 and 3 respectively, connected by forwardly and rearwardlyextending frame members 4 and an end frame member 5. The frame 1 issupported by ground engaging tire equipped wheels 6 that are journaledon shafts 7 mounted at the rear ends of the frame members 4. The endframe member 5 is adapted to be connected to a tractor, not shown, butby a conventional hitch bar 8, shown fragmentarily in FIG. 1. The frontframe section 2 includes a pair of laterally spaced frame members 9 and10 connected by a transverse frame member 11' and a guide member 12 thatsupports a conventional sickle mower 13. At their front ends, the framemembers 9 and 111) are connnected by a transverse tie rod 14, the frontends of the frame member 9 and 10 having mounted thereon conventionaland well-known crop guide members 15. The mower 13, in and of itself,does not comprise the instant invention and, for the sake of brevity,further detailed showing thereof is omitted. It should suffice to statethat the mower 13 is operated by power transmission mechanism includinga drive shaft 16 that may be assumed to be connected to the powertake-off of the tractor, not shown. The front frame 2 is furthersupported from the rear frame 3 by a rigid link 17, and windrowingshields 18 are adjustably mounted on the rear frame 3 for guidingmaterial cut by the mower 13 into windows of desired widths. The swatherof FIG. 1 is further provided with a pair of cooperating corrugated ortoothed crop conditioning rolls 19, one of which is shown, and betweenwhich the cut crop is moved rearwardly in the conventional manner.

The feeding reel of this invention is indicated in its entirety by thereference character 20, and comprises an elongated tubular axial body2]., a plurality of axially spaced spider elements 22 mounted thereon,longitudinally extending reel bats 23 and longitudinally extending tinebars 24. The tubular body 21 is provided at its opposite ends withaxially outwardly projecting central shafts 25 that are each welded to apair of axially spaced radial anchoring flanges 26 that are disposedwithin opposite end portions of the tubular body 21 and welded therein.The shafts 25 are journaled in suitable bearings in the frame members 9and 10, one of the shafts 25 being keyed for reception of a powertransmission not shown, but which may be assumed to be contained withinthe frame member 9 for connection to the drive shaft 16 in the usualmanner, whereby rotation may be imparted to the reel 20.

The spider elements 22 are identical, each comprising a main plate-likeportion 27 and disk-like reinforcing member 28, the portion 22 andmember 28 having central openings closely receiving the tubular body 21,the reinforcing member 28 having an inner circumferential flange 29defining the central opening therein. Further, the reinforcing member 28is formed to provide an angular rim portion 30 that is welded orotherwise rigidly secured to its respective plate-like portion 27, eachplate-like portion 27 and its respective reinforcing member 28 beingwelded or otherwise rigidly secured in axially spaced relationship tothe tubular body 21. Each plate-like portion 27 has an outline in theform of a hexagon having alternate relatively long sides of equal lengthand alternating relatively short sides of equal length. The relativelylong sides of the hexagon are defined by elongated flanges 31 thatproject in a given direction axially with respect to the reel 20, therelatively short sides of each hexagon being defined by edges 32 of eachplate-like portion 27. The spider elements 22 are mounted on and securedto the tubular body 21 in such arrangement that the flanges 31 of eachspider element 22 are each coplanar with a flange 31 of the other of thespider elements 22.

Each plate-like portion 27 is formed to provide a plurality of notches33 that open radially outwardly of the edges 32 thereof, the notches 33of each spider element 22 being aligned with the notches 33 of the otherof the spider elements 22 of the reel 20. Each aligned group of notches33 receives a different one of the tine bars 24, the bars 24 beingjournaled in bearings 34 bolted or otherwise rigidly secured to each ofthe plate-like portions 27 adjacent the notches 33 thereof. Each of thetine bars 24 has mounted thereon a plurality of pairs of connected tines35 and a single tine 36, the tines 35 of each pair thereof beingconnected by torsion spring portions 37 loosely wrapped around theirrespective tine bar 24, and a central connecting portion 38 that isrigidly secured to the respective tine bar 24 by a mounting clip 39 andan anchoring screw 40, see particularly FIG. 6. The tines 36 aredisposed longitudinally outwardly of a spider 22 at one end of the reel20 and have inner ends mounted in flexible clips 41 that are secured totheir respective tine bars 24 by nut equipped screws or the like 42, seeparticularly FIG. 3. Each tine bar 24, longitudinally outwardly of itsrespective tine 36, is provided with a crank element 43 that is adaptedto be connected to suitable control mechanism, indicated generally at 44in FIG. 1. The cam mechanism, in and of itself, does not comprise theinstant invention. Hence, for the sake of brevity, further showing anddescription thereof is omitted.

The reel bats 23 are three in number, each of the reel bats 23 beingsecured to a coplanar group of flanges 31 by means of nut equippedscrews 45. It will be noted, with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4, that eachbat 23 is disposed adjacent a different one of the tine bars 24 and, forthe purpose of the present example, is disposed forwardly in the normaldirection of rotation of the reel, of its adjacent tine bar 24. Thenormal direction of rotation of the reel 20 is counterclockwise withrespect to FIGS. 2 and 4, and as indicated by arrows thereon. The reelbats 23, as well as the plate-like portion 27 and reinforcing members 28of the spider elements 22, are preferably stamped from sheet metal, thereel bats 23 including generally flat transversely central portion 46and laterally spaced parallel tubular portions 47 that extendlongitudinally of the bats 23 and which add rigidity thereto. It will benoted, with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4, that the bat mounting screws 45extend through the flat intermediate portions 46 of the bats 23.

In addition to the rigidity afforded by the tubular bead portions 47 ofthe reel bats 23, the spider flanges 31 and reinforcing members 28cooperate with the tubular structure of the body 21 to add strength andrigidity to the entire reel structure while maintaining the weightthereof at a very satisfactory minimum. Further, with the abovearrangement it will be seen that the tine bars 24 may be quickly andeasily removed from the spiders 22 and it is necessary to replace tines35 or the tine bars 24 themselves, and that the tine bars 24 may bequickly and easily replaced when repairs have been effected.

This invention has been thoroughly tested and found to be completelysatisfactory for the accomplishment of the objectives set forth; and,while a commercial embodiment of the reel of this invention has beenshown and described, it will be understood that the same is capable ofthe modification without departure from the spirit and scope of theinvention, as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A reel for agricultural implements comprising:

a. an elongated tubular axial body;

b. shaft means projecting axially outwardly from opposite ends of saidbody;

c. a plurality of axially spaced spider elements rigidly mounted on saidtubular body, each of said spider elements defining a hexagon outlinehaving alternate straight sides of equal relatively long length andalternating sides of equal relatively short length, each spider elementincluding a main platelike portion and axially projecting flangesextending longitudinally of and defining said relatively long sides; aplurality of elongated bat elements extending in directions axially ofsaid tubular body and each mounted on a different one of the flanges ofeach of said spider elements adjacent a different one of said shortsides defined by the spider elements;

e. said spider elements defining notches opening radially outwardly ofsaid relatively short sidedefining edges;

f. aligned bearings mounted on said spider elements adjacent saidrelatively short side-defining edges in axial alignment with saidnotches;

g. tine equipped bars journalled in aligned ones of said bearings, eachof said bars being disposed adjacent a different one of said batelements and parallel thereto;

h. and a plurality of reinforcing members each having a peripheral edgeportion rigidly secured to the plate-like portion of a different one ofsaid spider elements redially inwardly of said spider element flanges,said plate-like portion of each spider element and it respectivereinforcing member having central openings for reception of said tubularbody and being rigidly secured to said body adjacent said centralopenings and in axially spaced relationship.

2. The reel defined in claim I in which said shaft means comprises apair of axially aligned shaft elements each at an opposite end of saidtubular body, characterized by a pair of axially spaced shaft mountingflanges on each of said shaft elements and rigidly secured within saidtubular body.

1. A reel for agricultural implements comprising: a. an elongatedtubular axial body; b. shaft means projecting axially outwardly fromopposite ends of said body; c. a plurality of axially spaced spiderelements rigidly mounted on said tubular body, each of said spiderelements defining a hexagon outline having alternate straight sides ofequal relatively long length and alternating sides of equal relativelyshort length, each spider element including a main plate-like portionand axially projecting flanges extending longitudinally of and definingsaid relatively long sides; d. a plurality of elongated bat elementsextending in directions axially of said tubular body and each mounted ona different one of the flanges of each of said spider elements adjacenta different one of said short sides defined by the spider elements; e.said spider elements defining notches opening radially outwardly of saidrelatively short side-defining edges; f. aligned bearings mounted onsaid spider elements adjacent said relatively short side-defining edgesin axial alignment with said notches; g. tine equipped bars journalledin aligned ones of said bearings, each of said bars being disposedadjacent a different one of said bat elements and parallel thereto; h.and a plurality of reinforcing members each having a peripheral edgeportion rigidly secured to the plate-like portion of a different one ofsaid spider elements redially inwardly of said spider element flanges,said plate-like portion of each spider element and it respectivereinforcing member having central openings for reception of said tubularbody and being rigidly secured to said body adjacent said centralopenings and in axially spaced relationship.
 2. The reel defined inclaim 1 in which said shaft means comprises a pair of axially alignedshaft elements each at an opposite end of said tubular body,characterized by a pair of axially spaced shaft mounting flanges on eachof said shaft elements and rigidly secured within said tubular body.